


Sparkle and Shine

by cat_77



Series: Flufftober 2018 [29]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 14:03:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16451348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cat_77/pseuds/cat_77
Summary: Magnus’ armor was different than Alec’s own.  Then again, so were his battles.





	Sparkle and Shine

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt of “glitter.”
> 
> * * *

One thing Alec had gotten used to pretty quickly was the sparkle and shine of nearly everything around Magnus Bane. One could not even meet him in passing without noticing the glitter at his eyes, the glint of sliver on his fingers and often his clothing as well.

It was one of the things he loved about him, really. He was always so out there, so able to unabashedly express himself, while Alec tended to drift to dark corners and stumble over the simplest of greetings in new or stressful situations. In battle or in strategizing for a battle he was fine but make him interact with new people or, Angel forbid, have to schmooze with new people? He could never reflect even a fraction of the warlock’s abilities.

And the sheer amount of information Magnus was able to glean from a supposedly simple conversation? He knew eighty percent of it was purely based on distraction. They saw the glitter, they saw the makeup, they saw someone who cared more about looking good than whatever little squabbles they might have going on, and let down their guard, revealed their tells, and gave the entire game away. Magnus may like to look pretty, and in Alec’s mind it didn’t take much to do so, but he was far from a vapid pretty boy and Nephilim and Downworlder alike should really know better by now.

So when Magnus didn’t come home until five in the morning in the middle of what Alec knew to be a minor warlock crisis with glitter smeared across his eyelids, cheeks bright with a shine to match his studded jacket, boots tipped with the same silver that streaked his hair and nails luminescent in the weak light of the room, Alec did not question that there was far more to the story than a night at a club. Magnus had waged a battle as surely as Alec had with his bow and blade against a horde of demons, only his lover’s fight was one he was only beginning to fully understand.

“Come here,” he offered, arms wide. He had been dressed and ready for work already, planned to stop for the good kind of coffee and maybe some pastries and get a head start on some paperwork while most of his people slept off their patrols from the night before. All of that was pushed aside when he sat down on the couch and held the person he loved most in the world as fiercely close as he dared.

“It was a long night,” Magnus eventually admitted. “More so as I was not asleep in our bed beside you.”

Alec smiled at the admission, and gently ran a hand down his arm, chuckling when the painful studs disappeared with a snap. “Anything you can talk about yet?” he asked.

“Soon,” Magnus promised. “Give me one more night? I believe by then either everything will be handled or it will have exploded enough that even your dullest of teams will notice.”

It was fair enough and he said as much. Still, he could not help the offer of, “Is there anything I can do right now?”

Magnus shook his head. “I need to sleep and you need to battle the terrible horrors of reports,” he yawned. “Just... you may want to keep your schedule open for the night after next. Either for a celebratory dinner, or possibly to prevent a massacre. One or the other.”

“I vote for the dinner,” Alec said because it was expected.

“Not sure we’re going to be the ones making that choice,” Magnus winced. He leaned up and kissed him gently on the cheek. “Go on, its time for all good warlocks to go to bed and all big bad Shadowhunters to defend the city or something.”

“Ah, yes, from the vicious hordes of bureaucracy,” Alec agreed, but he reluctantly released his hold and stood. A large coffee and a bag with a fresh croissant appeared on the table before him and he huffed that the man beside him knew him so well. “Thank you,” he said as he picked up the offerings.

He tugged on his jacket as Magnus tugged off his own boots and offered a very tired, “I love you.”

“I love you too, now get some sleep,” he ordered, and headed off to start his day.

He worked for a solid hour and a half before his sister wandered in. Instead of taking the seat across from him, she perched herself in the edge of his desk and brushed a smear of glitter off of his sleeve, then reached up and did the same for his cheek. “Magnus get any leads?” she asked after wiping her hands on her own pants.

“We’ll know soon enough,” he shrugged.

“Do we need to need to change the roster yet?” She blithely tried to steal his coffee, and made a face when she found it empty. They began to plan out just that together, while Alec glanced down that the little flecks of shine still on the cuff of his otherwise black shirt. He smiled despite himself, knowing it was simply Magnus’ armor blending with his own.


End file.
